So ever since I read a National Geographic story a couple years ago, I've been watching the surreal buildup of the ultra-rich oil nation, Dubai, with utter amazement. And to keep my jaw dropping to the floor, I ran across this otherworldly, no-holds-barred creation -- Enjoy:

http://www.flixxy.com/dubai-dynamic-architecture.htm

Peace,
Terry in California

Innerdreamrecords

31.01.2008, 15:31

I can see it now, four tenants per floor arguing which way we should face in the morning! :wink:

Thanks for the link, interesting project.

podperson

31.01.2008, 16:30

It will also be the world's first prefabricated skyscraper.
Um, how about the Empire State Building (http://www.technologystudent.com/culture1/empire1.htm) (which isn't even claimed to be "the first") -- which in addition to actually having been built, is about 50% taller than this proposed folly.

TerryVeiga

31.01.2008, 19:59

Here's more interesting fodder. Also shows a comparison of the Empire State building:

The power generation feature of the building seems highly dubious ... not that it probably can't generate the power they estimate, but that the maintenance costs of the components will far outweigh any benefit.

Just going past the pilot wind farms outside LA you can quickly guesstimate the number that are out of commission at any given time ... anything that constantly spins floors around is going to be a lot more of a maintenance nightmare.

Martin

01.02.2008, 21:20

The power generation feature of the building seems highly dubious ...

The building and the idea is nice but I also have some doubts that it can generate 20 MW.